![Roman](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/Roman.de.renart.2.jpg)
Reynard the Fox is a
literary cycle
A literary cycle is a group of stories focused on common figures, often (though not necessarily) based on mythical figures or loosely on historical ones. Cycles which deal with an entire country are sometimes referred to as matters. A fictional c ...
of medieval
allegorical
As a literary device or artistic form, an allegory is a narrative or visual representation in which a character, place, or event can be interpreted to represent a hidden meaning with moral or political significance. Authors have used allegory t ...
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
,
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
,
French and
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
fable
Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse (poetry), verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are Anthropomorphism, anthropomorphized, and that illustrat ...
s. The first extant versions of the cycle date from the second half of the 12th century. The genre was popular throughout the
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Europe, the Renai ...
, as well as in
chapbook form throughout the
Early Modern period.
The stories are largely concerned with the main character Reynard, an
anthropomorphic red fox,
trickster
In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story ( god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...
figure. His adventures usually involve his deceiving other anthropomorphic animals for his own advantage or trying to avoid their retaliatory efforts. His main enemy and victim across the cycle is his uncle, the wolf, Isengrim (or Ysengrim).
While the character of Reynard appears in later works, the core stories were written during the Middle Ages by multiple authors and are often seen as parodies of medieval literature such as
courtly love stories and
chansons de geste, as well as a satire of political and religious institutions.
[Bianciotto, G. (2005). Introduction. In ''Le Roman de Renart''. Paris: Librairie Générale Française (Livre de poche) ] The trickster fox, Reynard, lives in a society of other talking animals (lion, bear, wolf, donkey, et cetera), making the stories a
beast epic.
The original copies were written in Old French, but have since been translated into many different languages. However, the tales of Reynard come from all across Europe and each retelling has details that are specific to that area.
The tales, no matter where they take place, are designed to represent the society around them and include the structures of society around them such as a noble court. While the authors take many liberties with the story telling, not all of the satire is meant to be rude or malicious in intent.
Characters
![Fox preaching to rooster](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Fox_preaching_to_rooster.jpg)
]
The main characters are anthropomorphic animals. The given names of the animals are of
Old High German
Old High German (OHG; german: Althochdeutsch (Ahd.)) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally covering the period from around 750 to 1050.
There is no standardised or supra-regional form of German at this period, and Old High ...
origin; most of them were in common use as personal names in
medieval Lorraine. The characters of Reynard the Fox were based on the medieval hierarchy, and are treated as human throughout the tales. Though, since multiple authors wrote the text, characters' personalities often change. Throughout the stories, these characters often switch between human and animal form and often without notice.
The characters who switch between human and animal form are often those of elite status, while the characters who don't change tend to be peasants. Often, the readers will find themselves able to empathize with Reynard. They find that the situations he is in are not often that different from their own lives, and this carries across the decades. The most common usage of animals as characters in tales has made it so the stories that touch on morally gray areas are easier to understand and accept.
*''Reynard the Fox''.
**The given name ''Reynard'' is from ''Reginhard, Raginohardus'' "strong in counsel". Because of the popularity of the Reynard stories, ''renard'' became the standard French word for "fox", replacing the
old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...
word for "fox", which was ''
goupil Goupil may refer to:
People
*Eugène Goupil (1831–1896), French Mexican philanthropist and collector
*Guillaume François Charles Goupil de Préfelne (1727–1801), member of the Council of Five Hundred
*Jeanne Goupil (born 1950), French ...
'' from Latin ''
vulpēcula''. Since Reynard has been written about in many different times and places across the world, it is not uncommon to see changes in his appearance to fit the natural surroundings of his story. His fur is often used as a camouflage, meaning if the story was written in a snowy landscape he will have white fur, or yellow fur for desert areas, in the wooded areas of forest he is depicted in red.
*''Isengrim the Wolf'', see
Ysengrimus
''Ysengrimus'' is a Latin fabliau and mock epic, an anthropomorphic series of fables written in 1148 or 1149, possibly by the poet Nivardus. Its chief character is Isengrim, the Wolf; the plot describes how the trickster figure Reynard, the ...
*''Tibert the
Cat
The cat (''Felis catus'') is a domestic species of small carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species in the family Felidae and is commonly referred to as the domestic cat or house cat to distinguish it from the wild members of ...
''; see
Tybalt
Tybalt () is a character in William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet''. He is the son of Lady Capulet's brother, Juliet's short-tempered first cousin, and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name as the character Tibert / Tybalt ''"th ...
, Prince of cats
*''King Noble the Lion''; see
king of beasts
Cultural depictions of lions are known in countries of Afro-Eurasia. The lion has been an important symbol to humans for tens of thousands of years. The earliest graphic representations feature lions as organized hunters with great strength, st ...
*''Bruin the
Bear''
*''Grimbard the
Badger
Badgers are short-legged omnivores in the family Mustelidae (which also includes the otters, wolverines, martens, minks, polecats, weasels, and ferrets). Badgers are a polyphyletic rather than a natural taxonomic grouping, being united by ...
''
*''Baldwin the Ass''
*''Hirsent the She-wolf''
*''Kyward the
Hare'' (also ''Coart'', ''Cuwaert''; a
coward
Cowardice is a trait wherein excessive fear prevents an individual from taking a risk or facing danger. It is the opposite of courage. As a label, "cowardice" indicates a failure of character in the face of a challenge. One who succumbs to cow ...
)
*''Chanticleer the
Cock''
*''Bellin the
Ram
Ram, ram, or RAM may refer to:
Animals
* A male sheep
* Ram cichlid, a freshwater tropical fish
People
* Ram (given name)
* Ram (surname)
* Ram (director) (Ramsubramaniam), an Indian Tamil film director
* RAM (musician) (born 1974), Dutch
* ...
''
*''Martin the
Ape
Apes (collectively Hominoidea ) are a clade of Old World simians native to sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia (though they were more widespread in Africa, most of Asia, and as well as Europe in prehistory), which together with its sister g ...
'', who had a son named Moneke that may be source of the word ''monkey''
In medieval European folklore and literature
![Fuchs](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Fuchs.margin_%28MMW10F50_f6r%29_detail.jpg)
Foxes in general have the reputation of tricksters in traditional
European folklore
European folklore or Western folklore refers to the folklore of the Western world, especially when discussed comparatively.
The history of Christendom during the Early Modern period has resulted in a number of traditions that are shared in many ...
.
The specific character of Reynard is thought to have originated in
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
folklore
Folklore is shared by a particular group of people; it encompasses the traditions common to that culture, subculture or group. This includes oral traditions such as tales, legends, proverbs and jokes. They include material culture, ranging ...
, from where it spread to France, Germany, and the
Low Countries
The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
.
[Briggs, Asa (ed.) (1989) ''The Longman Encyclopedia'', Longman, ] From the twelfth and thirteenth centuries there are around twenty-six different tales of Reynard the Fox. While there might have been more that were written these are the ones that survive to present day. Many of these are written by different authors and anonymous authors, so there was not just one person writing the tales.
An extensive treatment of the character is the
Old French
Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intellig ...
''Le Roman de Renart'' written by
Pierre de Saint-Cloud
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French language, French form of the name Peter (given name), Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via ...
around 1170, which sets the typical setting. Reynard has been summoned to the court of king Noble (or Leo), the lion, to answer charges brought against him by Isengrim the wolf. Other
anthropomorphic animals, including Bruin the bear, Baldwin the ass, and Tibert (Tybalt) the cat, all attempt one stratagem or another. The stories typically involve
satire
Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...
whose usual butts are the
aristocracy and the
clergy
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
, making Reynard a peasant-hero character.
The Catholic Church used the story of the preaching fox (as found in the Reynard literature) in church art as propaganda against the
Lollards
Lollardy, also known as Lollardism or the Lollard movement, was a proto-Protestant Christian religious movement that existed from the mid-14th century until the 16th-century English Reformation. It was initially led by John Wycliffe, a Catholic ...
. Reynard's principal castle,
Maupertuis
Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (; ; 1698 – 27 July 1759) was a French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters. He became the Director of the Académie des Sciences, and the first President of the Prussian Academy of Science, at the ...
, is available to him whenever he needs to hide away from his enemies. Some of the tales feature Reynard's funeral, where his enemies gather to deliver maudlin
elegies
An elegy is a poem of serious reflection, and in English literature usually a lament for the dead. However, according to ''The Oxford Handbook of the Elegy'', "for all of its pervasiveness ... the 'elegy' remains remarkably ill defined: sometime ...
full of insincere piety, and which feature Reynard's posthumous revenge. Reynard's wife Hermeline appears in the stories, but plays little active role, although in some versions she remarries when Reynard is thought dead, thereby becoming one of the people he plans revenge upon. Isengrim (alternate French spelling: ''Ysengrin'') is Reynard's most frequent antagonist and foil, and generally ends up outwitted, though he occasionally gets revenge.
An individual tale might span several genres which makes classification difficult. Tales often include themes from contemporary society with references to relics, pilgrimage, confession, and the crusades.
There is debate over whether or how closely they related to identifiable societal events, but there is a growing camp that see direct societal connections and even implicit political statements in the tales. The stories are told in a way that make such associations easy to make but difficult to substantiate.
Reynard stories translate difficult laws and legal concepts into common language, allowing people to both understand them and enjoy the legal predicaments and antics of the characters. The court operates just as those in medieval society; the king heard cases only on one specified date and all disputes were heard at once.
Many versions follow Raynard's fights with Yesengrin, the fox's regular antagonist throughout the stories.
Violence between them and other characters is a common thematic element. It is a matter of debate whether the violence shows animals simply acting as such or is meant to reflect the violence in society, especially the various wars that common folk endured at the time.
''Ysengrimus''
Reynard appears first in the medieval
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
poem ''
Ysengrimus
''Ysengrimus'' is a Latin fabliau and mock epic, an anthropomorphic series of fables written in 1148 or 1149, possibly by the poet Nivardus. Its chief character is Isengrim, the Wolf; the plot describes how the trickster figure Reynard, the ...
'', a long Latin mock-epic written c. 1148–53 by the medieval poet Nivardus, that collects a great store of Reynard's adventures. He also puts in an early appearance in a number of Latin
sequences
In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called t ...
by the early-13th-century preacher
Odo of Cheriton
Odo of Cheriton (1180/1190 – 1246/47) was an English preacher and fabulist who spent a considerable time studying in Paris and then lecturing in the south of France and in northern Spain.
Life and background
Odo belonged to a Norman family whic ...
. Both of these early sources seem to draw on a pre-existing store of
popular culture
Popular culture (also called mass culture or pop culture) is generally recognized by members of a society as a set of practices, beliefs, artistic output (also known as, popular art or mass art) and objects that are dominant or prevalent in a ...
featuring the character.
''Roman de Renart''
The first "branch" (or chapter) of the ''Roman de Renart'' appears in 1174, written by Pierre de St. Cloud, although in all French editions it is designated as "Branch II". The same author wrote a sequel in 1179—called "Branch I"—but from that date onwards, many other French authors composed their own adventures for Renart ''li goupil'' ("the fox"). There is also the Middle High German text ''Reinhard Fuchs'' by
Heinrich der Glïchezäre, dated to 1180. Roman de Renart which fits into the genre of romance. Roman de Renart gets it start using the history of fables that have been written since the time of Aesop.
The romance genre of the middle ages is not what we think of the romance genre of today. The romance genre in the middle ages is a fiction telling of a character's life.
The protagonist of the romance genre often have an adventure or a call to action this need is almost always there because of an outside force. During the 13th century, French was seen as a standard language, and many works during the Middle Ages were written in French, including Reynard the Fox. Romance was a very popular genre at the time, and many popular works from the Middle Ages fall into the romance genre.
Pierre de St. Cloud opens his work on the fox by situating it within the larger tradition of epic poetry, the
fabliaux and
Arthurian romance
The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Western ...
:
''Van den vos Reynaerde''
A mid-13th-century
Middle Dutch
Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarc ...
version of the story by
Willem die Madoc maecte (''
Van den vos Reynaerde'', Of Reynaert the Fox), is also made up of
rhymed verses (the same
AA BB scheme). Van den vos Reinaerde and Reinaert Historie (referred to as R I and R II, respectively) are two poems written by two different authors with R II being a continuation of R I. With different writers comes different variations. This can best be seen with Reynard himself. While describing the same character the Reynard from R I has many different character traits of that in R II. While a finished and completed poem by itself, Van den vos Reinaerde does not have a set ending.
Like Pierre, very little is known of the author, other than the description by the copyist in the first sentences:
![Reineke](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Reineke.1498.jpg)
''Madocke'' or ''Madoc'' is thought to be another one of Willem's works that at one point existed but had been lost. The ''Arnout'' mentioned was an earlier Reynard poet whose work Willem (the writer) alleges to have finished. However, there are serious objections to this notion of joint authorship, and the only thing deemed likely is that Arnout was French-speaking ("Walschen" in Middle Dutch referred to northern French-speaking people, specifically the
Walloons
Walloons (; french: Wallons ; wa, Walons) are a Gallo-Romance ethnic group living native to Wallonia and the immediate adjacent regions of France. Walloons primarily speak '' langues d'oïl'' such as Belgian French, Picard and Walloon. Wall ...
). Willem's work became one of the standard versions of the legend, and was the foundation for most later adaptations in Dutch, German, and English, including those of
William Caxton
William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer to be the first English retailer of printed books.
His parentage a ...
,
Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
, and
F. S. Ellis.
[
]
Chaucer
Geoffrey Chaucer used Reynard material in the ''Canterbury Tales
''The Canterbury Tales'' ( enm, Tales of Caunterbury) is a collection of twenty-four stories that runs to over 17,000 lines written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer between 1387 and 1400. It is widely regarded as Chaucer's ''magnum opus ...
''; in "The Nun's Priest's Tale
"The Nun's Priest's Tale" (Middle English: ''The Nonnes Preestes Tale of the Cok and Hen, Chauntecleer and Pertelote'') is one of '' The Canterbury Tales'' by the Middle English poet Geoffrey Chaucer. Composed in the 1390s, it is a beast fabl ...
", Reynard appears as "Rossel" and an ass as "Brunel".
Early Modern tradition
In 1481, the English William Caxton
William Caxton ( – ) was an English merchant, diplomat and writer. He is thought to be the first person to introduce a printing press into England, in 1476, and as a printer to be the first English retailer of printed books.
His parentage a ...
printed ''The Historie of Reynart the Foxe'', which was translated from ''Van den vos Reynaerde''. Also in the 1480s, the Scottish poet Robert Henryson
Robert Henryson (Middle Scots: Robert Henrysoun) was a poet who flourished in Scotland in the period c. 1460–1500. Counted among the Scots ''makars'', he lived in the royal burgh of Dunfermline and is a distinctive voice in the Northern Renai ...
devised a highly sophisticated development of Reynardian material as part of his '' Morall Fabillis'' in the sections known as ''The Talking of the Tod''. Hans van Ghetelen, a printer of Incunabula in Lübeck
Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...
printed a Low German version called ''Reinke de Vos'' in 1498. It was translated to Latin and other languages, which made the tale popular across Europe. Reynard is also referenced in the Middle English
Middle English (abbreviated to ME) is a form of the English language that was spoken after the Norman conquest of 1066, until the late 15th century. The English language underwent distinct variations and developments following the Old English ...
poem ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight
''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is a late 14th-century chivalric romance in Middle English. The author is unknown; the title was given centuries later. It is one of the best-known Arthurian stories, with its plot combining two types of ...
'' during the third hunt.
Tybalt
Tybalt () is a character in William Shakespeare's play '' Romeo and Juliet''. He is the son of Lady Capulet's brother, Juliet's short-tempered first cousin, and Romeo's rival. Tybalt shares the same name as the character Tibert / Tybalt ''"th ...
in Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
's '' Romeo and Juliet'' is named after the cat in Reynard the Fox (and is called 'Prince of Cats' by Mercutio
Mercutio ( , ) is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's 1597 tragedy, ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is a close friend to Romeo and a blood relative to Prince Escalus and Count Paris. As such, Mercutio is one of the named characters in the ...
in reference to this).
Jonson Jonson is a surname, and may refer to:
* Ben Jonson (c. 1572 – 1637), English Renaissance dramatist, poet and actor
* Fredric Jonson (born 1987), Swedish professional football player
* Gail Jonson (born 1965), former medley and butterfly swimm ...
's play ''Volpone
''Volpone'' (, Italian for "sly fox") is a comedy play by English playwright Ben Jonson first produced in 1605–1606, drawing on elements of city comedy and beast fable. A merciless satire of greed and lust, it remains Jonson's most-perfor ...
'' is heavily indebted to Reynard.
With the invention of the printing press the tales of Reynard the fox became more popular and started to get translated and recreated in many different languages. The tales of Reynard don't follow the typical sense of reprinting as there is no clear chronological way in which the stories are told and they also have only slight changes. Many of the original pages to these stories have been lost to time so it is difficult to tell what the exact literary changes are. There aren't many literary changes to the works with the exception of the typical changes that are seen from the early days of the printing press. There are also slight changes to the wording that show modernization of the uses and differing orders of the words at times.While the changes might appear to be mistakes there they are not thought of as mistakes and are often kept in the modernization of the tales. There haven't been many attempts to better the works in during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries but they are not seen as often.The reason that the changes to the tales during the fifteenth century are not seen as a mistake is because at that time there were people specified to work in printing and the beliefs of the printers would not have made that many mistakes. In the early modern editions of Reynard the Fox the characteristics of the animals were based on things that the middle class reader wanted to see.
Modern treatment
19th century
''Reinecke Fuchs'' by Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
is a poem in hexameters, in twelve parts, written 1793 and first published 1794.
Goethe adapted the Reynard material from the edition by Johann Christoph Gottsched
Johann Christoph Gottsched (2 February 1700 – 12 December 1766) was a German philosopher, author and critic of the Enlightenment.
Biography
Early life
He was born at Juditten (Mendeleyevo) near Königsberg (Kaliningrad), Brandenburg-Pr ...
(1752), based on the 1498 ''Reynke de vos''.
In Friedrich Nietzsche
Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche (; or ; 15 October 1844 – 25 August 1900) was a German philosopher, prose poet, cultural critic, philologist, and composer whose work has exerted a profound influence on contemporary philosophy. He began his ...
's 1889 '' The Twilight of the Idols'', Nietzsche uses Reynard the Fox as an example of a dialectician.
German artist Johann Heinrich Ramberg made a series of thirty drawings, which he also etched and published in 1825.
''Renert'' a Ma'nsgrëßt''">ull original title: ''Renert oder de Fuuß am Frack an a Ma'nsgrëßt''[''Renert'' at the ''European Literary Characters'' website.](_blank)
Retrieved on 22 April 2015.[ Retrieved on 22 April 2015.] was published in 1872 by Michel Rodange
Michel Rodange (3 January 1827 – 27 August 1876) was a Luxembourgish writer and poet, best known for writing Luxembourg's national epic, ''Reynard, Renert'' ull original title: ''Renert oder de Fuuß am Frack an a Ma'nsgrëßt''[Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...]
eois author. An epic satirical work—adapted from the 1858 Cotta Edition of Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
's fox epic ''Reineke Fuchs'' to a setting in Luxembourg. It is known to be a satirical mirror image of Luxembourg's social sphere after the turmoils of the '' Luxembourg Crisis'', whereby the author transposed his criticism and social scepticism to the animal society in which his fox 'Renert' lives. Beyond that, it is insightful analysis of the different regional and sub-regional linguistic differences of the country, where distinct dialects are used to depict the fox and his companions.
20th- and 21st-century literature
Fedor Flinzer illustrated ''Reineke Fuchs'' (''Reynard the Fox'') for children.
French artist Rémy Lejeune (Ladoré) illustrated ''Les Aventures de Maître Renart et d'Ysengrin son compère'', "Bibliolâtres de France" editions (1960).
* British poet laureate John Masefield
John Edward Masefield (; 1 June 1878 – 12 May 1967) was an English poet and writer, and Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate from 1930 until 1967. Among his best known works are the children's novels ''The Midnight Folk'' and ...
's poem "Reynard the Fox" (1920) concerns a fox hunt that pursues the title character, who "could outlast horse and outrace hound."
* Louis Paul Boon
Louis Paul Boon (15 March 1912, in Aalst – 10 May 1979, in Erembodegem) was a Belgian writer of novels, poetry, pornography, columns and art criticism. He was also a painter. He is best known for the novels ''My Little War'' (1947), the diptych ...
's novel ''Wapenbroeders'' (Brothers in Arms, 1955) is an extensive reworking of the whole tale.
* Reynard the Fox makes a short but significant appearance at the end of '' The Magician King'', when he is accidentally summoned.
* Reynard, a genetically modified part-fox, is a major character in John Crowley's novel ''Beasts
Beast most often refers to:
* Non-human animal
* Monster
Beast or Beasts may also refer to:
Bible
* the Beast (Revelation), Beast (Revelation), two beasts described in the Book of Revelation
Computing and gaming
* Beast (card game), English n ...
''.
* Reynard, in a variety of lives and names often containing "Guy," "Fox," "Fawkes," and "Reynard," is one of the leading characters in the Book of All Hours Duology by Hal Duncan
Hal Duncan (born 21 October 1971, real name Alasdair) is a Scottish science fiction and fantasy writer.
His works have been listed in the New Weird genre, but he prefers not to ascribe his writings to any genre.
Life
Hal Duncan was born in Ki ...
, and is stated to be every incarnation of the trickster throughout the multiverse.
* A human version of the character appears in David R. Witanowski's ''Reynard Cycle'' novels.
* The fantasy detective Peter Grant crosses paths with Reynard in the novel '' The Hanging Tree'' by Ben Aaronovitch
Ben Dylan Aaronovitch (born 22 February 1964) is an English author and screenwriter. He is the author of the ''Rivers of London'' series of novels. He also wrote two ''Doctor Who'' serials in the late 1980s and spin-off novels from ''Doctor Who' ...
.
*A version of the character appears in Laurence Yep
Laurence Michael Yep (; born June 14, 1948) is an American writer. He is known for his children's books, having won the Newbery Honor twice for his ''Golden Mountain'' series. In 2005, he received the biennial Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for his ...
's ''A Dragon's Guide'' series as a shapeshifting, computer-hacking ally of the dragon Ms. Drake.
*In 2020, the Bodleian Library published a major retelling of the Flemish ''Reynard the Fox'' by Anne Louise Avery. See the ''Times Literary Supplement'' review here
Reynard the Fox by Anne Louise Avery; Aesop's Fables review
and ''Dutch Crossing: Journal of Low Countries Studies'' her
The Once and Future Fox: Reynard the Fox
* Swedish childrens comic Bamse
''Bamse – Världens starkaste björn'' () is a Swedish cartoon created by Rune Andréasson. The highly popular children's cartoon first emerged as a series of television short films as well as a weekly Comic strip formats#Half page, half-page ...
added a reoccurring trickster antagonist named Reinard Räv (Reinard Fox) with a rivalry with Vargen (The Wolf) in 2006
Dutch antisemitic version (1937)
''Van den vos Reynaerde'' (Of Reynaert the Fox) was an antisemitic children's story, written by the Belgian-born Dutch politician Robert van Genechten
Robert van Genechten (25 October 1895 – 13 December 1945) was a Belgium, Belgian-born Netherlands, Dutch politician and writer and a leading Collaboration with the Axis powers, collaborator during the German occupation of the Netherlands.
Ea ...
, and named after the Middle Dutch poem. It was first published in 1937 in ''Nieuw-Nederland'', a monthly publication of the Dutch Nazi Party
The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party (german: Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported t ...
's front, the NSB. In 1941, it was published as a book. The story features a rhinoceros
A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species ...
called Jodocus, somewhat akin to the Dutch word ''jood'' (which means "Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...
"); and a donkey, Boudewijn, who occupies the throne. ''Boudewijn'' was the Dutch name for the contemporary real-world Belgian crown prince. In the story, Jodocus is an outsider who comes to the Empire and subsequently introduces new ideas that drastically alter the natural order. The land is then declared a "Republic", where "liberty, equality and fraternity" are to be exercised, presenting a dystopian view of a socialist republic
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ec ...
: "There was no one who kept to the rules of the race. Rabbits crept into foxholes, the chickens wanted to build an eyrie." Eventually, Reynard and the others trick and kill Jodocus and his colleagues.
''Van den vos Reynaerde'' was also produced as a cartoon film by Nederlandfilm in 1943, mostly financed with German money. While lavishly budgeted, it was never presented publicly, possibly because most Dutch Jews had already been transported to the concentration camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simpl ...
s and the film came too late to be useful as a propaganda piece, possibly also because the Dutch collaborationist Department of People's Information, Service and Arts objected to the fact that the fox, an animal traditionally seen as "villainous", should be used as a hero. In 1991, parts of the film were discovered in the German ''Bundesarchiv''. In 2005, more pieces were found, and the film has been restored. The reconstructed film was shown during the 2006 Holland Animation Film Festival in Utrecht
Utrecht ( , , ) is the fourth-largest city and a municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the province of Utrecht. It is located in the eastern corner of the Randstad conurbation, in the very centre of mainland Net ...
and during the KLIK! Amsterdam Animation Festival in 2008, in the Netherlands.
In films and television
Ladislas Starevich
Ladislas Starevich (russian: Владисла́в Алекса́ндрович Старе́вич, pl, Władysław Starewicz; August 8, 1882 – February 26, 1965) was a Polish-Russian stop-motion animator notable as the author of the first pup ...
's 1930
Events
January
* January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...
puppet-animated feature film '' Le Roman de Renard'' (The Tale of the Fox) featured the Reynard character as the protagonist.
The documentary film '' Black Fox'' (1962) parallels Hitler
Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Nazi Germany, Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his death in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the le ...
's rise to power with the Reynard fable.
Initially, Walt Disney Animation Studios
Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS), sometimes shortened to Disney Animation, is an American animation studio that creates animated features and short films for The Walt Disney Company. The studio's current production logo features a scene fro ...
considered a movie about Reynard. However, due to Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
's concern that Reynard was an unsuitable choice for a hero, the studio decided to make Reynard the antagonist of a feature film based on Edmond Rostand's '' Chanticleer'') but the production was scrapped in the mid-1960s, in favor of '' The Sword in the Stone'' (1963). Ken Anderson used the character designs for ''Robin Hood
Robin Hood is a legendary heroic outlaw originally depicted in English folklore and subsequently featured in literature and film. According to legend, he was a highly skilled archer and swordsman. In some versions of the legend, he is dep ...
'' (1973), such as the animal counterparts (e.g. Robin Hood, like Reynard, is a fox while the Sheriff of Nottingham, like Isengrim, is a wolf).
In 1985, a French animated series, ' (''I Reynard''), was created that was loosely based on Reynard's tales. In it, the original animals are anthropomorphic humanoid animals (to the point that, primary, only their heads are that of animals) and the action occurs in modern Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
with other anthropomorphic animals in human roles. Reynard is a young mischievous fox with a little monkey pet called Marmouset (an original creation). He sets off into Paris in order to discover the city, get a job and visit his grumpy and stingy uncle, Isengrim, who is a deluxe car salesman, and his reasonable yet dreamy she-wolf aunt, Hersent. Reynard meets Hermeline, a young and charming motorbike-riding vixen
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
journalist. He immediately falls in love with her and tries to win her heart during several of the episodes. As Reynard establishes himself in Paris, he creates a small company that shares his name which offers to do any job for anyone, from impersonating female maids to opera singers. To help with this, he is a master of disguise and is a bit of a kleptomaniac
Kleptomania is the inability to resist the urge to steal items, usually for reasons other than personal use or financial gain. First described in 1816, kleptomania is classified in psychiatry as an impulse control disorder. Some of the main ch ...
, which gets him into trouble from police chief Chantecler (a rooster) who often sends cat police inspector Tybalt after him to thwart his plans.
The Goethe
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...
fox epic was adapted into a 1989 German television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
produced by Manfred Durniok and ZDF called ''Isegrim ind Reineke''; animation was outsourced to Shanghai Animation Film Studio
Shanghai Animation Film Studio () also known as SAFS () is a Chinese animation studio based in Shanghai, China, as part of the Shanghai Film Group Corporation. Shanghai Animation Film Studio was officially established in April, 1957, led by pion ...
in China. Unlike other versions, this portrays Renart (Reineke) as quite villainous while Isegrim (who is not related in this version) just tries to keep his job safe from the fox's tricks. While Reineke always tricks and beats the wolf, usually some twist of fate or accident still prevents him from winning and keeps Isegrim's job safe in the court. The movie, which is actually 6 episodes of unrelated stories strung together, is available on DVD.
'' Le roman de Renart'' is a 2005 CGI feature animated film made in Luxembourg in French with an English dub called ''Renart The Fox'' or ''The Adventures of Renny the Fox''.
The TV show '' The Magicians'' includes a character who takes the name of Reynard, but bears no resemblance to the historical literary figure. In this version, he is a pagan trickster god who is a son of Persephone
In ancient Greek mythology and religion, Persephone ( ; gr, Περσεφόνη, Persephónē), also called Kore or Cora ( ; gr, Κόρη, Kórē, the maiden), is the daughter of Zeus and Demeter. She became the queen of the underworld after ...
.
In music
Reynard the Fox is the name of a number of traditional folk songs (Roud
The Roud Folk Song Index is a database of around 250,000 references to nearly 25,000 songs collected from oral tradition in the English language from all over the world. It is compiled by Steve Roud (born 1949), a former librarian in the London ...
190, 358 and 1868).
* '' Renard'' is a one-act chamber opera-ballet by Igor Stravinsky, written in 1916, with text by the composer based on Russian folk tales from the collection by Alexander Afanasyev
Alexander Nikolayevich Afanasyev (Afanasief, Afanasiev or Afanas'ev, russian: link=no, Александр Николаевич Афанасьев) ( — ) was a Russian Slavist and ethnographer who published nearly 600 Russian fairy and folk ta ...
.
* Andy Irvine recorded the traditional Irish song "Reynard The Fox" with Sweeney's Men
Sweeney's Men was an Irish traditional band. They emerged from the mid-1960s Irish roots revival, along with groups such as The Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. The founding line-up in May 1966 was Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine and "Galway ...
on their 1968 debut album ''Sweeney's Men
Sweeney's Men was an Irish traditional band. They emerged from the mid-1960s Irish roots revival, along with groups such as The Dubliners and the Clancy Brothers. The founding line-up in May 1966 was Johnny Moynihan, Andy Irvine and "Galway ...
''.
* Fairport Convention recorded the traditional English song called "Reynard The Fox" (Roud 190) (collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams in Norfolk
Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...
)["Reynard the Fox" at ''Mainly Norfolk: English Folk and Other Good Music'' website.](_blank)
Retrieved on 22 April 2015. on their 1978 album '' Tipplers Tales''.
* Martin Carthy recorded the song "Reynard the Fox" (Roud 1868) on his 1982 album '' Out of the Cut''.
* Julian Cope wrote a song called "Reynard the Fox" which he recorded on his 1984 album '' Fried''.
* Brass Monkey recorded a version of the song collected by Ralph Vaughan Williams as "The Foxhunt" (Roud 190) sung by Martin Carthy on their 1986 album ''See How It Runs''.
* Country Teasers
Country Teasers were an art punk band formed in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1993.
Frontman Ben Wallers also performs solo as The Rebel. He plays live shows with a Gameboy backing-track or accompanied by Country Teasers bassist Sophie Politowicz on dru ...
wrote a song called "Reynard the Fox", which appears on the 1999 album '' Destroy All Human Life''.
Other references
*Dutch modern artist Leonard van Munster made an installation titled "The Surrender of Reynard the Fox".
*Reynard and Reynardine
Reynardine is a traditional English ballad (Roud 397). In the versions most commonly sung and recorded today, Reynardine is a werefox who attracts beautiful women so that he can take them away to his castle. What fate meets them there is usually l ...
are the basis for a major character in the webcomic '' Gunnerkrigg Court'', a fox demon who can possess "anything with eyes", including living beings and, in his current form, a plush wolf toy. The comic also features Ysengrin, as well as the North American mythological Coyote.
*Reynard is portrayed as a character in ''Fables
Fable is a literary genre: a succinct fictional story, in prose or verse, that features animals, legendary creatures, plants, inanimate objects, or forces of nature that are anthropomorphized, and that illustrates or leads to a particular moral ...
'', as a smart and cunning fox who is loyal to Snow White and Fabletown, despite being one of the Fables segregated to the upstate New York "Farm" due to his non-human appearance. He initially appears as a physically normal fox, anthropomorphized only in his ability to think and speak as humans do; later, he is granted the ability to assume a handsome human appearance.
*The French comic '' De cape et de crocs'' takes place in an alternative 17th century where anthropomorphic animals live among humans. One of the two main characters, Armand Raynal de Maupertuis
Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis (; ; 1698 – 27 July 1759) was a French mathematician, philosopher and man of letters. He became the Director of the Académie des Sciences, and the first President of the Prussian Academy of Science, at the ...
, is a French fox based on Reynard. His companion, Don Lope de Villalobos y Sangrin, is a Spanish wolf based on Isengrim (which is spelled Ysengrin in French).
*Reynard the Fox appears as a enemy in the Japanese mobile game ''The Battle Cats
is a free-to-play tower defense video game developed and published by PONOS Corporation for iOS and Android, which was originally released in Japan under the name ''にゃんこ大戦争'' (Nyanko Great War). ''The Battle Cats'' debuted on the ...
'' as "Raynard".
See also
* Animal tale
* Coyote (mythology)
Coyote is a mythological character common to many cultures of the Indigenous peoples of North America, based on the coyote (''Canis latrans'') animal. This character is usually male and is generally anthropomorphic, although he may have some coyo ...
* Fabliau
* Fox spirit
Huli jing () are Chinese mythological creatures usually capable of shapeshifting, who may either be benevolent or malevolent spirits. In Chinese mythology and folklore, the fox spirit takes variant forms with different meanings, powers, charac ...
* Foxes in popular culture, films and literature
* Kitsune
In Japanese folklore, , are foxes that possess paranormal abilities that increase as they get older and wiser. According to '' yōkai'' folklore, all foxes have the ability to shapeshift into human form. While some folktales speak of employing ...
* Króka-Refs saga
''Króka-Refs saga'' () or the ''Saga of Ref the Sly'' is one of the Icelanders' sagas. Written in the 14th century the saga relates the adventures of Ref Steinsson, whose unpromising origins lead him to greatness in both combat and subterfuge.
...
* Maleperduis
* Medieval literature
Medieval literature is a broad subject, encompassing essentially all written works available in Europe and beyond during the Middle Ages (that is, the one thousand years from the fall of the Western Roman Empire ca. AD 500 to the beginning of t ...
* Trickster
In mythology and the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a character in a story ( god, goddess, spirit, human or anthropomorphisation) who exhibits a great degree of intellect or secret knowledge and uses it to play tricks or otherwi ...
* Ysengrimus
''Ysengrimus'' is a Latin fabliau and mock epic, an anthropomorphic series of fables written in 1148 or 1149, possibly by the poet Nivardus. Its chief character is Isengrim, the Wolf; the plot describes how the trickster figure Reynard, the ...
Notes
Bibliography
* Bonafin, Massimo, ''Le malizie della volpe: Parola letteraria e motivi etnici nel Roman de Renart'' (Rome: Carocci editore, 2006) (Biblioteca Medievale Saggi). cf
here an abstract of this book
& cf
here a review of this book
unfortunately not yet translated in English.
* Zebracki, Martin
Het grenzeloze land van Reynaerde
he_boundless_country_of_[the_FoxReynaert.html" ;"title="he_Fox.html" ;"title="he boundless country of [the Fox">he boundless country of [the FoxReynaert">he_Fox.html" ;"title="he boundless country of [the Fox">he boundless country of [the FoxReynaert Geografie 20 (2011: 2), pp. 30–33.
* Johann Heinrich Ramberg (artist), Dietrich Wilhelm Soltau (author), Waltraud Maierhofer (editor): "Reineke Fuchs – Reynard the Fox. 31 Originalzeichnungen u. neu kolorierte Radierungen m. Auszügen aus d. deutschen Übersetzung des Epos im populären Stil v. Soltau , 31 original drawings and newly colored etchings with excerpts from the English translation of the burlesque poem by Soltau." VDG Weimar, Weimar 2016. .
External links
Le roman de Renart
In French.
by Henry Morley, 1889.
Full text of the Middle Dutch poem with notes
the journal for the International Reynard Society.
* Anne Lair, "The History of Reynard the Fox: How Medieval Literature Reflects Culture," in: ''Falling into Medievalism'', ed. Anne Lair and Richard Utz. Special Issue of ''UNIversitas: The University of Northern Iowa Journal of Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity''
* [http://www.1day1photo.com/index.php?page=showbig&usr=szilvi&datum=2010-03-03&lang=eng Reynard The Fox in the Vondelpark 03 03 2010]
Reynard the Fox Collection at Mitchell Library, Glasgow
{{DEFAULTSORT:Reynard the Fox
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